Edger for lawn mowers



Aug. 8, 1950 J, T

EDGER FOR LAWN MOWERS I5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 9, 1946 INVENTOR. 23%

Aug. 8, 1950 J. D. RUST EDGER FOR LAWN MOWERS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 9. 1946 TQM Aug. 8, 1950 J. D. RUST 2,518,187

EDGER FOR LAWN MOWERS Filed Feb. 9, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR.

Patented Aug. 8, 1950 UNITED STATES OFFICE.

EDGER FOR LAWN MOWEES John D. Rust, Memphis, Tenn.

Apnlicatien Fe ruary 9, 194.6, Seri l No. $6,6 2

out over the wa k and that the. lawn-m w r mp y ride ver it, eaving an. edg which. is ragg d. a po nts where it will be most noticeable.

To. obt in a neatly finish dedee al ng. the walls and a o h r d sirab e pla s, it een necessary to expend a. g at al of. la or n tr mmin the flat ly ne or n ng. grassv wit shears. or by oth h nd me h ds wh h have been oth te- 911011 and ti me,

The prim ry obj f h present invention i To. provid a dev ce which can be readily attached t r detached from, aconventional lawnmower and wh ch. will rais he flattened Or in.- clined grass and guide it to the cutting mechanism f. the mower so, t t. it will. be out or t imm d even y- A fu ther jec is to p o id a device of this kind hich can be atta h d to a. standard or conventional lawn-mower without the use of tools; and which, when so attached, is secure against accidental dislodgement.

A still further object is to provide an attach mentfor a lawn-mower which will be effective to raise and guide the grass into the cutting mechanism of the mower even though the surfaces on the carrier wheels of the mower travel may be above or below the surface on which the grass lifting device travels.

In the present application, I illustrate only one type of mower, but I want it distinctly understood that my invention resides in combining the attachment with a cutting mechanism, and it is intended to be usedwith any type of lawnmower, either hand or power driven, and not to be limited as an attachment to the type illustrated.

The means by which the foregoing and other objects are accomplished, and the manner of their accomplishment, will be readilyunderstood from the followin Specification upon reference to the accompanying drawings, in which;

Fig; 1 is a sectional side elevation of one form of my invention and its relation to the knives and cutter bar of the type lawn-mower illustrated herein when attached thereto.

Fig. 2 is a, fragmentary plan showing the atcach g n f he dev e and i s relation to the rolierof the. mower to which it is. attached...

Fig. 3. is a. sectional side. elevation at my. preie red ormoi th device. and my preferred ty e 2 of gttachment to the roller shaft f the mower; an

Fig, 4 is a corresponding plan View Q about one-half of the mower,

Fi 5 is a r nd vi w of th roller. and attaching for}: shown in Fig, 3 and Fig, A, 7

Referring now to the drawings in which. the various parts are indicated by numerals:

H a Wheel of a l wn-mower of that, well known type in which. spiral knives cooperate with a cutter bar, l3 are the knives. l5. the cutter bar,

ii the usual roller mounted on a transverse shaft it, carried by the mower rearwardly Of the, out ter bar, and Hi the mowenhflndl, all in usual relation, but with the frame of the mower. omit, ted. Two types of the roller are Shown. In Figs. 1 and 2, the roller comprises a number,- of short sections journalled on the shaitlfl, leaving e iz een the sectio exposed por ions oi the sa i In Fi s. 3: and 4, a ingle section roller Innis shown with only the end portions of the sha-it IBA accessible.

one form f the device, comprises. a shoe 24 adapted to ride alon he surface of a driveway. walk, or the like. which shoe is. carried. by part which are d'etachably secured to themower and position the shoe forwardly of the mower wheels. n igs L and 2, the-carrier parts comnrise a ork. 23 which. has. side walls. smced apart. to embrace a section of the roller H, the sidewall havin notches 25. extending upwardly'and-for- Wal ly. from. its lower edge for engagement over end-with the. shaft it of theroller. The fork 23 is ri idlysecnrcd, as by w ldin to a bar 29 which is adapted tounderlie the cutter barof the mower, preventing disengagement of the fork when the devicev is in use, and is of length to extendforwardly of the'wheels ii. At its forward end the bar 2e is pivotally @Qnnected pin 3. to: the shoe at, forwardly from the-middle of the time, so that the heel is heavier than the toe. of the. shoe. Thes oe is thesfree-to slid-e fiathi on the ground or. walk, and followthe contour of s me. i Qverlyingi the her is a. flat spring 33 which is secured to the bar adjacent the shoeZL, as by rivets the spring, extendine rearwa dlr i underlying, relation with. the cutter bar I5, and mullahs! curvinsupward an aw y' om the bar gs and t its rear end being deflected downwar against sucncurvaturee by the cutter bar sqthat it. remains in, ntact withv he un er side o the bar irrespective of 19W 31k downward theshoe 2| may drop relatively to the wheels under any ordinary condition of use.

In my preferred type of the device, shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the shoe 2|, the attaching pin 3| and the spring 33 are of substantial identity with the type shown in Fig. 1, and a similar fork might have been shown had the roller used permitted. The bar 29A, however, which pivotally carries the shoe 2| is here shown as a short section to which the spring 33 is attached, and from which the spring extends as before into underlying relation with the cutter bar I5, and this section is carried by a bar 293, arched up over the transversely extending parts, as the axle 31 and brace rod 39- of the mower, and extending downward to supporting engagement with the shaft |8A of the roller HA. The end 40 of the arched bar preferably extends into proximity to the shaft 3| to limit pivotal movement of the shoe.

With the arched type of mounting, shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the operator is enabled to more easily overcome any obstacles that may be encountered in operation. For example, in the event that the toe of, the shoe 2| encounters an obstacle, such as an offset caused by broken concrete, the operator can, by pressing down on the handle l9 of the mower, raise the shoe so that it will pass over the obstacle. The heel of the shoe being heavier than its toe will cause the toe to rise first, makin it very easy to pass over any such obstacles. When the handle of the lawn-mower is pressed downward, the front of the mower is raised up, pivoting on shaft |8A ment with the shaft I 8A of the roller IA. In

this case, the roller |1A shown, extends continuously across the mower and engagement of the fork is with opposite end portionsof the shaft. The crossbar of the fork is preferably in two parts, one of which is provided with a longitudinal slot 233, the parts being adjustably clamped together by bolts 23C. Latches 34 pivotally attached to the side walls of the fork prevent eccidental disengagement of the fork and shaft.

It will readily be understood that the arched type of mounting, adjustable bar, fork and latches shown in Figs. 3 and 4, may be used for attachment on a mower having the sectional type roller ll of Figs. 1 and 2. Likewise the type 23A of the fork may be used with the bar 29 of Figs. 1

and 2, where a long roller exists, but the latches 34 are unnecessary with a bar which underlies the cutter bar.

the shaft.

Attachment of the type shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is made by raising the wheels knives l3 and cutter bar l5 and other mower parts about the roller engaging the spring 33 beneath the cutter bar I5 and the notches 25 of the fork with the shaft l8 and lowering the mower parts completing the engagement.

The mower without attachment of the device is used in ordinary manner to mow the lawn.

Where edging is to be done, the device is attached as described and the mower pushed along the edge of the drive, walk or the like over which the grass has flattened to direct the shoe 2| along the desired line of cut. The point of the shoe in such movement engages under and raises up the flattened grass and spring 33 guides the grass to the cutter bar l5, where it is cut off by the knives l3. In this movement the spring insures that there be no interruption in the path of the grass to the cutter bar, irrespective of any rise or drop of the shoe 2| relatively to the cutter bar, which might otherwise occur because of ground or other surface irregularities. After the edges are trimmed, or for any other reason, the device may be readily disconnected and removed.

It will be understood that much of the detail of the device may be changed without departing from the spirit of my invention and I wish it distinctly understood that I do not intend to limit myself to such detail except as in any claim it may be set out.

I claim:

1. An attachment for a lawn-mower having a cutter bar and cooperating knives, and having a. shaft carried roller rearwardly thereof, said attachment including, in combination, mechanical means for trimming edges of lawns, said means comprising an over-arching arm pivotally anchored to the lawn-mower, a sliding shoe for raising flattened or leaning grass or weeds, said shoe being pivotally connected forwardly from its center of gravity to the forward end of said over-arching arm, and yielding means carried by said arm for guiding said grass and weeds from said shoe into the cutting mechanism of the mower.

2. An attachment for a lawn-mower having a cutter bar and cooperating knives, and a shaftcarried roller rearwardly thereof, said attachment comprising in combination a shoe, means connected to said shoe detachably engageable with said roller shaft, pivotal means on said shoe extending forwardly from said shait-engageable means for pivotally supporting said shoe forwardly of said cutter bar and knives, and resilient guide means secured to said forwardly extending means in adjacency to said shoe and extending rearwardly therefrom into underlying contact with said cutter bar.

3. An attachment for a lawn-mower having a cutter bar and cooperating knives, and a shaftcarried roller rearwardly thereof, said attachment comprising in combination a shoe, means connected to said shoe detachably engageable with said roller shaft, pivotal means on said shoe extending forwardly from said shaft-engageable means in underlying relation to said cutter bar pivotally for supporting said shoe forwardly of said cutter bar and knives, and resilient guide means secured to said forwardly extending means rearwardly of said shoe and extending rearwardly into underlying contact with said cutter bar.

4. An attachment for a lawn-mower having a cutter bar and cooperating knives, and a shaftcarried roller rearwardly thereof, said attachment comprising, means connected to said shoe detachably engageable with said roller shaft, pivotal means on said shoe extending forwardly from said shaft-engageable means in overlying relation to said mower knives, a shoe pivotally supported by said forwardly extending means forwardly of said cutter bar and knives, and resilient guide means secured to said forwardly extending means rearwardly of said shoe and extending rearwardly into underlying contact with said cutter bar.

5. An attachment for a lawn-mower having a cutter bar and cooperating knives, and a shaftcarried roller rearwardly thereof, said attachment comprising a fork detachably engageable with said roller shaft, means carried by said fork engageable with said shaft for latching said fork thereto, means extending forwardly from said shaft-engageable means in underlying relation to said mower knives, a shoe pivotally supported by said forwardly extending means forwardly of said cutter bar and knives, and resilient guide means secured to said forwardly extending means rearwardly of said shoe and extending rearwardly into underlying contact with said cutter bar.

6. An attachment for a lawn-mower, said attachment comprising mechanical means for trimming the edges of lawns, said means comprising an over-arching arm pivotally anchored to the lawn-mower, a sliding lifting member carried by said arm for raising flattened or leaning grass or weeds and yielding means carried by said arm for guiding said grass or weeds from the sliding lifting member into the cutting mechanism of the mower.

7. An attachment for a lawn-mower, said attachment comprising mechanical means for trimming the edges of lawns, said means comprising an arm pivotally anchored to the lawn-mower, a sliding lifting member carried by said arm for raising flattened or leaning grass or weeds and yielding means carried by said arm for guiding said grass or weeds from the sliding lifting member into the cutting mechanism of the mower.

8. An attachment for a lawn-mower which mower includes a cutter bar and cooperating knives and a shaft-carried roller rearwardly thereof, said attachment comprising a bar detachably and pivotally engageable with said roller shaft and extending to a place forwardly of said cutter bar and cooperating knives, a shoehaving a ground-engaging under surface, means pivotally connecting said shoe with the forward extremity of said bar at a point in advance of the midlength of said shoe, and a leaf spring carried by the forward extremity of said bar and extended rearwardly to lie beneath and in engagement with said cutter bar.

9. An attachment for a lawn-mower having a roller with a shaft; said attachment including an over-arching arm having spaced apart elements adapted for attachment to the shaft of said roller, and a sliding shoe operatively attached to said arm for raising flattened or leaning grass or weeds.

10. An attachment according to claim 9 wherein said shoe is pivotally attached to the forward end of said arm, and wherein means are provided that are adapted for guiding the grass or weeds from said shoe into the cutting mechanism of the mower.

11. An attachment for a lawn-mower having a cutter bar, said attachment including a roller having a shaft, an arm having means adjacent one end for pivotal attachment to said roller, a sliding shoe on said attachment adapted for sliding on the ground, means pivotally connecting said shoe to said arm, and a fiat spring secured to said arm adjacent said shoe and extending to adjacent said cutter bar for guiding grass and weeds from said shoe to the cutter bar.

JOHN D. RUST.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 510,753 Woodyatt Dec. 12, 1893 1,135,071 Swanson Apr. 13, 1915 1,501,244 Scott July 15, 1924 1,626,712 Agee May 3, 1927 1,684,886 Rabie Sept. 18, 1928 1,876,462 Larson Sept. 6, 1932 2,116,829 Hoerner May 10, 1938 2,157,620 McGrath et a1 May 9, 1939 

